HECTOR — A 49-8 thrashing of the Hartford Hustlers in the Wildcats’ season and 2A-4 Conference opener on Tuesday at Wildcat Field wasn’t quite enough for Hector head coach Mark Taylor.

The second-year coach knows a greater challenge looms on the horizon when the Wildcats travel to Two Rivers on Friday to take on the Gators.

“We have to tackle better than we did tonight,” Taylor said. “If you do that against a team as athletic as Two Rivers, they’ll turn them into touchdowns.”

Hartford was a different story, however. Hector opened the game with 40-yard return by Eric McGowan, followed by a 55-yard touchdown run by Gus Nichols. Tyler Brashear crossed the goal line at the 6:07 mark, and Nichols one more time before the close of the first quarter.

Freshman quarterback Tanner Gaines made short work of the Hustlers through the air and on his feet. The freshman completed 6-of-9 passes for 108 yards, a touchdown and added another 98 yards rushing.

“I was very happy with his performance,” Taylor said. “He made some really nice plays out there and he plays with his legs. He can turn a bad play into a good one in a hurry.”

But the relatively untested quarterback will face a more aggressive linebacker corp on Friday. The Gators line up in a five-linebacker package, and Gators head coach Josh Harrison said all five were aggressive tacklers.

“We’re not going to sit back on our heels and let offenses run the game,” Harrison said. “We’re going to do that against every team, not just Hector. If they aren’t fast up front, they’re going to have a very long night against us.”

The Two Rivers head hunters are Caleb Lisenby, Blake Sink, Matt Burnett, Dylon Piles and Taylor Smith. Harrison said they had Gaines’ number.

Taylor said the Wildcats had some experience against a blitzing defense. They run one themselves, after all.

“We’re familiar with them and their formations,” Taylor said. “We’ve had a lot of work against that because it’s what we run. We see it every day. Our defense does it. The difference is how tough they are going to be.”

The Wildcats, who are picked to win the 2A-4 Conference this year, dropped their meeting with the Gators last season 38-8 — but Hector at the start of the season last year was a completely different team than they are this year.

Two Rivers is a 3A-4 school and Harrison said their improved numbers would play a factor down the stretch.

“I think we’ve got more depth at each position than what they do,” Harrison said. “This is the first time since I’ve started coaching that Two Rivers will have 35 on the roster. Not only that, we’ve got several that can really play.”